Friday, May 31, 2013

Technicality Keeps Second City From Capitalizing on Huge Week
Sometimes it goes against you and sometimes it goes in your favor. This season it seems that the past few seasons worth of bad karma is finally coming back to the club with good fortune favoring the squad so far. This week it was a lineup technicality that ended up being the difference in the match with Second City. The Stars stepped up to the plate and put out an impressive 8pts ... but weren't able to count even half of them due to a late notice to the league (and Alamo City) of their starting 11. The club knows it got away with one but isn't sorry for it. It happens but now the Battle have to look forward to the defending BSL Champions. The Flyers will be the test before the mid season break and lately they've been flying rather high. The Battle must continue to put the points on the board as they have if they want to keep rolling.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Alamo City's Dominance of Union SC Continues in 5-3 Win
It's just one of those things and it has kept going for Alamo and Union. The Battle have absolutely dominated the match history against the Californian club and this weekend's 5-3 victory just added another footnote to the record book between the two original BSL rivals. With the win the Battle got a leg up in the Founder's Cup standings and also started off the Major's Cup Qualifying campaign with the full 3 points. A great start to the second half of the season. Now Alamo City will welcome Second City who has typically been a tough match for the Battle. While the overall record favors the Texan side, the scoring history is very tight.

"This is what makes this league so competitive and so much damn fun," proclaimed Alamo City management at the post-game press conference. "Yes, records are great. They feel great and they're a badge of pride ... but they ain't putting hardware in the trophy case. We feel good about it of course, but we've got a whole new set of issues to face now."The records being referred to are as follows:
10 points scored is the highest ever in a BSL league match.
9 different players scoring is the most ever in a BSL league match.
13 points scored in the match ties the most ever in a BSL league match.

Unofficially the club broke it's own unofficial record for points scored as there were 2pts on the bench for a total of 12 points collected by Alamo City players (the two on the bench did not count in BSL play).

With all of that said and done, it was the practical implications that got the players attention. Captain Theirry Henry pointed out that the biggest thing was remaining on top of the BSL table. Will Johnson pointed out that the points scored moved the Battle into a favorable position with total points scored and average points scored. Kenny Cooper added that taking control of the Founder's Cup standings helped widen the separation between Alamo City and other clubs. Then there was veteran Jimmy Nielsen that pointed out the importance of the momentum the club has gathered in light of swoons in recent years at about this time frame. All of those things become increasingly important as the 2nd half of the BSL season kicks off this evening. That means Major's Cup Qualifying begins and the Alamo City Battle start the road to defending their 2012 Cup. A new sense of pride and energy has the locker room popping with an energy that has been lacking in the past few seasons.

The challenge falls to old foe Union SC to try and derail the freight train. Many would look at this as a pressure packed showdown for the Battle. They'd be wrong. Dropping points to Union would be a blip on the radar in the overall scheme of the rivalry. The law of averages will catch up at some point both in the season and in the ongoing series with the Blues. It's inevitable. At some point the results will go the other way. That doesn't put pressure on Alamo City and it wouldn't represent a reversal of fortune. However, the Battle are taking dead aim at keeping their foot firmly on Union's throat in this rivalry match up.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

It's a Founder's Cup clash that has always produced fireworks. For whatever reason, when Gateway is on the field with Alamo City the scoreboard is in trouble. With the way the schedule has fallen for their first match up of the 2013 season, things could really get out of hand. Everything is set up for an offense display that very well could see team and league records fall. What's important though, is that the Battle continue to take home the points. "We rebounded nicely last week from our first loss," stated Thierry Henry. "However, we're still facing a couple of issues with a few of the guys. So far the management has made moves to keep us on top of things. We'll need that to continue this week. Gateway United is a strong club and they always play us well. We need to go out and take the match to them."
Without coming out and saying what the issues were, Henry alluded to a few of the guys having lingering issues. Specifically he's talking about Oba, Kleberson, and himself. Despite the schedule looking very favorable to Alamo City this week, two of the biggest weapons might not get to take advantage. Oba is looking doubtful for the first of Seattle's two matches this week, and Henry hasn't ever played when NYRB visits NE. Kleberson is still wallowing in no-man's land since arriving as a DP in Philadelphia even though the very spot he fills has underperformed all season. The club though, is used to adversity and has always attempted to meet it head on. This week will be no different.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Battle Take 3rd Straight Freedom Cup as 4-0 Victory Over Alliance Reclaims the Top of the BSL Table

After last week's dismal showing against Orange County, the Alamo City Soccer Club was looking for a few things this week. Yes, the club was looking to capture it's third straight Freedom Cup. Yes, the club was looking to show that it was truly as good as the table indicated. Most importantly though, the Battle were out to prove that it had moved past the issue that had plagued it the last few years. The momentum train has seen Alamo City shoot through the roof as well as crash through the floor. Being a streaky team is only a good thing if you catch fire at the right time. For the Battle the opposite has been the case more often than not. The club has seen the lingering of flat performances take away the Supporter's Shield, a playoff spot, and much more. This week the club finally put into practice what it's been preaching for several years.
"It was very important for us to come back out this week and put in a strong performance," stated team captain Thierry Henry. "We've tried so hard in the past to shake the effects of a poor game but weren't able to do it. I think we might have gotten it right this week." It would be very hard to disagree. While putting up another 4 spot the Battle's defense returned emphatically by posting a shutout. Newly acquired Will Johnson set the tone on Thursday night with relentless pressure. As the match wore on though, the pressure just wasn't turning into points. "For a minute we were worried. We had seen this type of thing before," stated Alamo City management. "Will was all over the place but just couldn't figure in a score, Oba ended up not getting on the pitch, Henry had a quiet match, Kleberson didn't see the field, but then Clint and Adam both got us on the board." As the match moved on the confidence grew despite the low score. The Battle defense looked as it did in the opening weeks of the season and Alliance just couldn't get any traction. The match moved into the final round late on Sunday and that's when the Battle sealed it with Giles Barnes connecting with Andrew Driver to put the match to bed.

With the 4-0 win the Battle secured the Freedom Cup once more. Going head to head with Club America for the Cup, the Battle were able to shut out their Mexican competition just like their BSL opponent.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Pending league approval, the Alamo City Soccer Club releases Michel and Eric Hassli and signs Diego Fagundez (NE) and Edgar Mejia (CHVUSA). If approved, this move will follow up on Alamo's trade of highly touted play maker Daigo Kobayashi to Alliance for Will Johnson. Frustration and disappointment color the sentiment about Kobayashi's time in San Antonio. "He's a fantastic player and his work is all over the Whitecaps play on the field. Unfortunately he just wasn't a fit for us. It happens sometimes ... even with players of his level. We hope that he has success at Alliance ... just not this week." The move brought in the hard working Will Johnson, who the Battle have had on their radar for a couple of years. "We loved his play when he was with RSL, but because of their play makers he wasn't really able to show his true ability. Now he's getting that shot and he's showing what we felt he had." The two clubs will face off against each other this week and both players will immediately get to face their old clubs. As for Fagundez, the Battle feel his reward is well worth the risk. "Going back to the end of last year, Fagundez has showed why he was signed at such a young age. He's a phenomenal talent and with NE's struggles he's been given an opportunity. At the moment he's making the most of it and is really pushing to be a regular starter. We're still fleshing out the final spots on our roster, and Diego presents an opportunity that is well worth the risk at this point. Just like with Kobayashi, Michel's transition with Dallas has moved him out of an effective slot for us. As a pressing defender he's an absolute steal and presents as big of a scoring threat as there is. Having been placed in the midfield as a box-to-box and being relied on to control the middle of the field, he just loses that effectiveness for us. It's a shame, because he's one of the best players in the league and as a defender, was one of the best threats around. He's just not the threat we need anymore." The club also brings back Edgar Mejia who had been released while serving a red card suspension.

Due to scheduling, two Alamo City players will be unavailable for selection leaving the club with one sub.

This week the Battle will also be facing Mexican Club giant, Club America in the Final of the 2013 Freedom Cup. Both squads enter the match on 3pts after having beaten Chivas handily.